Trading Statement

Irish Continental Group plc (“ICG” or the “Group”) Trading update

The current level of uncertainty and the introduction of travel restrictions across the EU because of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant reduction in current passenger traffic and forward bookings for what is normally the peak Summer passenger season for ICG’s Irish Ferries services.

It is very difficult to estimate the full year financial impact on the Group, as the reduction in passenger revenue will be material. In the period from January 1^St to the 6^Th of June this year car volumes are down 62% with total passenger volumes down 60%.

The severity of this reduction in passenger revenue is dependent on the duration and nature of travel restrictions particularly over the peak Summer season.

Retention of the Common Travel Area (CTA) between Britain and Ireland is of major benefit to the tourism and hospitality sectors in Ireland. The current Irish Government position, of asking people from Britain who visit Ireland to self-isolate for 2 weeks, is not consistent with that of the British Government who do not require people travelling to Britain from Ireland to self-isolate. In addition, there is nothing to stop people from Britain visiting Ireland by transiting via Northern Ireland without the requirement to self-isolate which is clearly anomalous.  We have written to the Irish Government on this issue.

With respect to our Irish Ferries ro-ro freight business and our Container & Terminal Division, the impact of COVID-19 has been more limited.  Year to date up to June 6^th ro-ro volumes are down 4%, container volumes are down 13% with container lifts on our terminals down 14%.

COVID-19 represents a unique set of challenges across our society. The key challenge for ICG is maintaining our part in the critical supply chains on and off the Island of Ireland.

Our services provide a vital lifeline service to our Island and beyond for food, drugs, medical supplies and in more recent times a high level of e-commerce goods. In the absence of airline capacity, we also offer a vital lifeline service for essential passenger travel, including returning medical and caring volunteers and technicians to fix vital equipment in our hospitals and care centres. We also provide an ability for our citizens to repatriate, where they must do so, to deal with emergencies at home. For these reasons we have and will maintain services on all our routes.